Blacks Must Take Role in Science, Reagan Says
President Reagan called Sunday for “moral solidarity against intolerance and racial hatred” and said that blacks must assume greater roles in the scientific community to move up in American society.
Delivering the commencement speech at Tuskeegee University, the President told the largely black audience that “if black Americans are to progress socially and economically, if they are to be independent and upwardly mobile, it is imperative that they be part of the great technological and scientific changes now sweeping our country and the world.”
The address was Reagan’s first as President at a predominantly black institution of higher education, and he received a warm reception from a segment of the population that has consistently given him low marks in public opinion surveys.
He had been scheduled to speak here in April, 1981, but was forced to cancel that appearance while recuperating from the attempt on his life in March of that year.
Battle ‘Obviously Not Over’
“The political and legal battle” for respect of civil rights “is obviously not over. We must remain vigilant, inside and outside of government,” Reagan said. “We must maintain our moral solidarity against intolerance and racial hatred. We cannot shrug off incidents of racial violence or interracial crime.”
While saluting the scientific contributions of black Americans--he mentioned the agricultural studies of George Washington Carver, heart surgeon Daniel Hale Williams and Dr. Charles Drew, whose studies advanced the storage of blood plasma--Reagan asked how much more they could have accomplished had they not also had to battle discrimination.
And, while saying that there was nothing wrong with the attention given to black athletes and entertainers, “it’s high time the media and the rest of America began paying more attention to those black citizens who are prominent in other professions as well.”
1.8 Million More Jobs
The President cited his Administration’s efforts to boost the economy, and he said that while “black unemployment has remained far too high and is totally unacceptable,” black employment has increased by 1.8 million jobs since 1980.
According to figures released Friday, black unemployment was 13% in April, down two percentage points over the last year. But the gap between black and white unemployment remains large. In April, white unemployment was 5.4%.
In addition, two higher education groups in March criticized federal student aid policies, saying that they hurt low-income black students disproportionately and may be the reason for a recent drop in black student enrollment.
The study, conducted by the United Negro College Fund and the National Institute of Independent Colleges and Universities, said students at private, historically black colleges have become increasingly dependent on federal loans, often assuming debts larger than their families’ annual incomes.
South’s Black Belt
In visiting Tuskeegee, Reagan was making a brief stop on a warm, humid Mothers’ Day in the heart of the South’s Black Belt, considered the birthplace of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Tuskeegee itself has been the site of civil rights struggles--a voting rights challenge continues today--and the school has a history of more than 100 years as a center of black education.
The institution was established in 1881 by Booker T. Washington in a one-room shanty on an abandoned cotton plantation. It now encompasses 4,500 acres, with 155 buildings and 3,300 students. But enrollment has dropped from 3,736 in the 1980-81 academic year.
Before speaking at the commencement, Reagan dedicated the Gen. Daniel (Chappie) James Center for Aerospace Science and Health Education. James, an Air Force officer, was the first black four-star general in the U.S. military.
First Black Fighter Pilots
James was a member of the Tuskeegee Airmen, the nation’s first group of black fighter pilots.
Reagan recalled that in 1944, he narrated a film about the airmen, and he said Sunday: “I’m proud that in that small way, I was able to contribute to the change in climate that gained public acceptance for black pilots.”
From Tuskeegee, Reagan flew to Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, N.C., for a brief appearance at a Bob Hope show marking the 40th anniversary of the Air Force.
